THE APPLE COUNTRY

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 8, Issue 29, 9 April 1907, Page 3

THE APPLE COUNTRY

Southern Illinois Will Lead in Production for This Year. ’*■ fl Industry Now One of the Or or. tost In “Elgrypt”—Olay Country Alone .Will Harvest Over One MU. Hun Unrrel*. There i* to be a repetition this yeai of the story of the going down into “Egypt,” but instead of going for com, as Joseph’s brethren did of old, tho people of northern Illinois'will buy apples of their southern neighbors, reports the Chicago Chronicle. "Egypt” is the name given to the extreme southern portion of the state by the more fortunate people of the north, and for years the thrifty people of the corn belt have been slyly poking fun at the “Egyptians,” but apparently that day is over, for with one county 1,000,000 barrels of apples and the corn crop almost equal to the central section a new era has apparently dawned for southern Illinois. One million barrels of apples! Large, red apples whose qualities in the market make them the peer of any fruit in the world. This is the crop of Clay county for 1900. I With an area exceeding'4o,ooo acres set to a total exceeding 2,000,000 trees, one-half of which are bearing t.his'ycar, this locality resembles one large apple orchard, and one could imagine himself in the Garden of Eden, with apples enough for Adam and his posterity for all time. This immense acreage is centered about the little city of Flora, the metropolis of the country. ■_ Possibly in a radius of 15 miles will include the greater portion of the orchard area. The southern Illinois belt claims 78,000 acres, scattered over ten counties, and the one county of Clay has more than oner-half this total acreage. The average age of the appfle trees is possibly 12 years, and the present year is the first general crop since the trees became of a bearing age. The country seems peculiarly adapted to the growing of an ideal apple tree and the production of a perfect <apple. According to the best authorities some of the finest orchards in the United \ States are located on the outskirts of the “orchard city,” as Flora is commonly known. From the eminence just north of town may be seen 1,000 acres of apple trees, now loaded 1 with fruit. The varieties known in this section are those well known in the markets as standard fruit. Color, flavor and keeping qualities are the requisites which are needed to give an apple favor in the eyes of the buyer and later please the appetite of a critical people. The Ben Davis predominates, as to the other varieties!, in proportion of three to one. The Jonathan, with its sleek, glossy coat of deep red, is the prime favorite. These apples bring fancy prices, and there is an unlimited demand for this splendid variety. The harvesting of this enormous crop is a problem which the growers have yet to solve, This is the first general crop since the. trees have reached the age of maturing and l the handling of such a vast amount of fruit within a comparatively short time is likely to tax the abilities of the horticulturists. Preparations are under way and everyone is hustling in order to meet the rush which is now at hand.

One representative of a large commission' firm said 1 to your correspondent the other day that he had purchased 50,000 barrels. This means 330 car loads or fully feu trains of apples. The magnitude of the industry is not apparent until the figures, are considered.

In order to care for the grades of fruit other than first-class nine laxgie evaporators have been built in this locality. These plants when running at full capacity will use 15,000 bushels daily. They are a marvel within themselves. Not only dio they dry Ihe body; of the apple, but the cores and peeling are also evaporated,, and- they find a ready market. These institutions turn out car loads of good clean stock and the quality is attested by Hie prices the product brings in the market. The apple growing industry is as yet in its infancy, ipul those horticulturists of an optimistic turn of mine) see great possibilities in store for this immediate locality when later years te«t the permanency of the business. It has opened np new industries and quickened the pulse of a section where the wheels of progress had not turned for two decades. An instance is shown by the location of a $45,000 cold storage plant in this city and still another where one of the evaporators, when the apple season was over, used pumpkins and found a ready market for this fruit. * A Negro Population, The rapid increase of the slaves under the excellent hygienic surroundings of the old plantations produced quite enough of them and to spare, without bringing in any more. It is an established fact, owing to the hygienic condition of the old plantations, that if the rate of increase of the negro for the first hundred year* of slavery had been maintained up to the present time, we should now have a negro population of 26,000,000, and yet there are now barely 9,000,000 in this country, with an equal number in our newly-acquired territory. At present I know of no southern city where the negro birth rate equals their death rate.—Leslie’s Monthly, Paradox. Larry—So ut wot Mary Illin Murphy thot shtarted th’ scrap ut th’ mask ball? Paddy—Yis, awn after warring' sich a costume. “Phwat did she ropresint', ’ 1 1 “Peactt, bedad! Chicago A Daily News, ,j *